The Shelby County Commission, after 24 rounds of voting, moved to postpone voting for county mayor to next Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The two strongest candidates, Democrats J.W. Gibson and Joe Ford, continued to receive five votes each, two shy of the seven needed to be installed as interim county mayor, completing the final 10 months of new Memphis Mayor A C Wharton's final term.
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The Memphis News Blog supplements coverage of The Commercial Appeal's top stories. Check back often for fresh perspective on breaking news and real-time updates of major events. The blog will focus on one big story at a time. For the next several months, we'll have our "Eye on City Hall," tracking the transition following the retirement of Mayor Willie Herenton and the special election to determine new leadership. Have a comment or a tip? E-mail lead blogger Alex Doniach at doniach@commercialappeal.com.
The big developers are looking to install someone favorable for the remainder of the term. They have their own candidate for the next election, Harold Byrd, but hope to get Joe Ford in there for now. Joe has always been a reliable pro-devleoper commissioner.
They have not been able to plow up forests and fields for more and more sprawl over the past 3 years as they have in the past and want to make up for lost time. They have boss Chism on their side and his boy, little Matt Kuhn. Mulroy owes them or one of their allies something.
If Joe can pull two more votes, it's because they are promising big campaign $$ for them.